we don't need no stinkin' hashbrowns!

i ran across this recipe via pinterest and HAD to try it.  i found one of the best substitutes for a delicious, carb-loaded, cheesy dish that i feel guilty even thinking about, much less eating.  my friends, i have discovered a comparable substitute for hasbrown casserole thanks to dandy dishes and pinterest.  here's the lowdown - the hashbrown casserole recipe i have calls for hashbrowns (duh), sour cream, lots of cheese, butter, cream of mushroom soup, etc.  put it all together and you have a solid 6 hours on the treadmill to work off a serving.  it's been ages since i've had hashbrown casserole and had filed it away under "recipes i should never eat again but probably will if given the chance".  when i ran across the sub recipe on pinterest i was a little skeptical.  it calls for using spaghetti squash, which i love, love, love, but i wasn't sold on it 100%.  tonight i decided to experiment.  the original recipe from dandy dishes is as follows:

Spaghetti Squash Au GratinServes 6
1 medium spaghetti squash
2 tablespoons butter
1 small yellow onion, cut in half and very thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more if you like it spicy
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
½ cup sour cream
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds. Place in a covered dish with a ¼ inch of water and microwave for 10 -12 minutes. In a medium sized skillet over medium heat, add the butter, onions, red pepper and thyme and cook until the onions are slightly brown in color. Salt and pepper to taste.
Using a fork, scrape the insides of the squash and transfer to a small bowl. Combine the squash, onions, sour cream and half the cheese together and mix well. Transfer the mixture to a buttered baking dish and top with remaining cheese.

Place into a 375º for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown on top.

 

here's a pic of my version:

 

 

 

as it is, each serving equals 4 weight watchers plus points.  when i made it tonight, i revised the recipe a little and found that substituting low fat cheddar, fat free sour cream and cooking spray (instead of butter) made this tasty side come out to 1 little WW+ point per serving!  it's so good and really satisfies any craving for something cheesy and rich.  i'm excited to try variations of this, perhaps with less cheddar and a little blue cheese, or add mushrooms and other veg to make it more of a casserole... the possibilities are endless. 

 

you're welcome.  :)

yum.

in the seemingly never-ending effort to eat healthy, i've been scouring pinterest for yummy recipe ideas.  i ran across a great food blog called skinny taste a while ago but have just recently cooked a couple of things from it.  spurred on by adam's love of this blog i made a chicken dish last weekend and a shrimp dish last night.  the chicken dish turned out ok and i would probably make it again with a few minor changes.  the shrimp dish, on the other hand, was great!  the original recipe (and much prettier picture of the food)  can be found here.  mine looked like this:

i modified the recipe slightly, using smaller shrimp and adding mushrooms.  i also like to substitute spaghetti squash for pasta, which helps tremendously with the carbs and weight watchers points, and it worked great with this dish. 

i calculated the points in weight watchers and it comes out to 5 WW+ points instead of 9 when you use the spaghetti squash.  not knowing how much this recipe would yield, i assumed 4 servings, but i think this was more like 6 or 7 - it makes a ton! - so the points may be even lower.  regardless, a huge serving of 5 point yumminess makes me happy!  the bf loved it, too, and hoovered down two big bowls.  lucky for me i have leftovers!

this recipe is definitely a keeper.  it does give a little kick with the amount of red pepper it calls for, so if you don't like spicy you may want to cut it down or omit it all together.  i think next time i will also saute the shrimp in garlic instead of just olive oil. 

looking forward to more skinny taste recipes!

my new obsession

on saturday, the bf and i joined a few of his friends at a great little place called bottle and bottega.  i had actually bought my mom a gift certificate to use here the next time she and my dad make a trip to chicago, so i was very excited to try it out.  the concept of bottle and bottega is to provide a fun, non-threatening atmosphere for people to try out their painting skills.  you can register for a public event (which is what we did), but they also offer private parties.  it's byob, so you bring your bottle and they provide the space, paint, canvasses, etc. as well as an instructor to walk you through the process of recreating whatever work of art has been chosen for that day.  painters of all levels are welcome and it's great for beginners.

so we showed up with our bottles, donned our aprons and settled in for an evening of painting and drinking.  i admit, i was a little nervous at first.  i have never considered myself artistic in the least, so the idea of me recreating a painting done by a real artist seemed on par with hell freezing over.  but, i was willing to give it a shot and figured between the bf and i, we would at least have two lovely paintings resembling what we would see on the walls of the local elementary school.

for three hours, we filled our glasses and painted along with our instructor's direction while we chatted and listened to fun music.  here is how my painting progressed:

the sketch.....

painting the background....

there were a lot more steps between step 2 and this, but here is my finished painting....

i have to admit, i was very pleasantly surprised with how my painting turned out.  having never picked up a paintbrush before - except for maybe paint by number projects when i was a kid - i didn't really expect much so i was pleased with my results.  it was really fun and i left b&b wanting to paint more. 

yesterday i was at michael's looking for a few things and happened to wander down the paint aisle.  you know where this is going.  i came home with a table top easel, a beginner set of acrylics and brushes, 2 canvasses and a painter's pallet.  i'm dying to set up and try my hand at another painting.  i have a ton to learn but i think i may have found a hobby that i'm really going to enjoy, regardless of whether my skill level every improves.  so in keeping with my theme for 2012, i am going to enjoy painting and am looking forward to taking my mom to b&b this spring/summer!





enjoy.

it's taken me a while but i've decided on my word for 2012 - enjoy.  so often i think to myself, "if i can just get through this week" or "next month will be better", etc.  i feel like i tend to wish away my days, - working to meet a deadline at work, hoping to get through a difficult meeting, looking forward to the next payday - and fail to enjoy each day as it happens, even if nothing major or particularly joyful occurs. 

i remember when i was a kid thinking my parents were crazy when they used to comment about how quickly time goes by.  i just wanted to be older, have more freedom and be an adult.  now that i'm an adult, i'm already looking back and wondering where the last several years have gone and pondering how time will most likely seem to speed up as i get older.  of course, with age comes responsibility and all of the things that make our days slip by unnoticed because we're so busy, stressed and worn out.  i guess i can only speak for myself, but i know i'm guilty of that, anyway.

so 2012 is my year to enjoy.  i want to be sure to enjoy things about each day - snuggling with my kitty, spending time with friends and the bf, pausing to be proud of myself when a project at work goes well, appreciating this great city i live in, etc.  here's to a year of enjoyment!

one little word - 2011 in review

last year about this time i posted about choosing one word to focus on as my theme for the upcoming year.  the word for 2011 was commit, as in "commit to getting healthy, commit to furthering my career path, commit to trying new things and commit to strengthening important relationships, etc."  so how did my year of committing work out?  let's see....

i do feel that i did better with my overall health (though i can't seem to lose any weight!).  i eat pretty healthy in general and feel i've done a better job over the past 12 months than any other year in working out consistently.  i completed my first 5k last spring and have been working out 3-6 times a week.  the bf ended up getting a membership to the indoor tennis center, so i've been fortunate to have the option to play tennis 1-2 times a week even though the lovely chicago weather doesn't typically allow for outside play after september. 

i think i've also been able to strengthen some of the relationships in my life.  i already had a great group of friends and very close ties with my family, but i think the one relationship that really grew was the one with the bf.  not to get sappy or cheesy, but we're in a great place and i've been really happy with him this past year. 

as for the career path, well....  that's an area that i would still like to focus on for 2012.  i'm sure there are things i could/should be doing to improve my skills and expertise, so i need to put a little more attention toward that this year. 

trying new things.... hmmm....  i did travel to a new country (spain), did the 5k (yes, i mentioned it already but it was new for me!), and have tried to experiment with new foods and healthy recipes.  i got a facial for the first time (what a treat!) and learned how to be a responsible pet owner.  none of the new things are earth shattering, but they were new to me.

all in all, i'd say 2011 was a pretty good year and i'm looking forward to 2012.  i'm still deciding what my word will be, but i'll post it soon!

willy the what?

i spent a little time online today looking for christmas gifts (yes, i know christmas is looming and most of you have already finished your shopping.  shutup.) and found a variety of things, as you tend to do on the internet.  looking through a random selection of kids books on amazon, i ran across this and had to do a double take....



that's right, this is the big story of a little sperm.  apparently it's gotten great reviews and is a really sweet story.  whatever. i just sat here and laughed hysterically at the cover for about 5 minutes once i realized that it wasn't a whale or some sea creature, it was in fact a sperm.  my maturity level is obviously less than the age of those this book is intended for, but i thought i would share and give you a giggle today. 

happy shopping!

thankful thursday

i know i probably should have posted this last week on thanksgiving, but quite honestly i was just so busy visiting family, eating good food and enjoying the spirit of the holiday that i couldn't be bothered to log on here and make a list of things for which i'm thankful.  however, a week later here i am contemplating my life and how i really should be more appreciative of the things and people in it.  i've heard so many stories lately that have made me realize the things i complain about - occassional problems finding a parking space on my street, my commute, various work-related issues, not being able to go to london for christmas for the first time in 4 years, having to spend money on dental work, etc. - really aren't that big of a deal in the grand scheme.  i choose to live in chicago therefore i basically choose to live with parking problems and ridiculous commutes.  i may not always be happy at work but at the end of the day i know i've contributed something positive toward helping people affected by a terrible health issue.  i'll have to see my niece and nephew open presents via skype this year but i'll get to see my sis and fam in the spring and will probably go to london next summer.  in turn i get to spend christmas with my parents, bf, and other family.  though it's a big hit to the bank account, i can manage to pay for dental work so that i can have pretty, healthy teeth.  a lot of people can barely afford food, much less porcelain veneers.

recently i've heard the following stories:

- woman, in her mid 30s with a husband and young child, diagnosed with breast cancer that metastasized after several rounds of chemo and radiation.  her prognosis is not good.

- friend who changed jobs 6 months ago and is now being layed off at the end of december

- another friend who has been with her company for 10 years and her position is being eliminated, again by the end of december.  corporate america is awesome at the holidays, isn't it?

- acquaintance of a friend who has worked at her company for 30+ years, has had to take a 33% pay cut and now will most likely have little to no retirement because of the company's financial status.  to top it off, her dad passed away a few days ago.  wonder how much the executives at her large, fortune 500 company are going to have to forfeit in this mess?  i'm guessing it'll be a drop in the bucket compared to her situation.

- woman who lost her husband to alzheimer's disease the week of thanksgiving after several years of acting as his primary caregiver and watching his health and memory painfully deteriorate

- friend of a friend who lost his 23 year old brother to an undetected heart condition that caused a sudden, fatal heart attack.  his funeral was the day after thanksgiving.  luckily his dad's bone marrow transplant a few days prior was successful so he was able to grieve with his family over the loss of his son before returning to the hospital for further cancer treatment.

unfortunately, i could continue with other heartbreaking stories but i'm really not writing this to bring anyone down.  i'm writing this to call attention to the things we take for granted; the things we cherish and love sometimes without realizing it until they are gone.  good health, enough money to pay the bills, family, supportive friends, employment.... all of these are factors of my life that i take for granted more than i care to admit.  so today i'm celebrating thanksgiving and taking a moment to be thankful for every person in my life who i care for, for a crazy cat that makes me laugh every day, for a great bf, for the food i'm able to put on the table, the wine i'm able to drink (duh, of course i'm thankful for wine!), and for self, who - even though she can be an annoying cow - keeps me in check and reminds me to appreciate all that i have.